(CNN) - The same day the Supreme Court issued a high-stakes ruling on a controversial part of President Barack Obama's health care law, a new national survey indicates confidence in the high court is at a record low, as Americans' trust in all three branches of government has fallen.

The release of a Gallup poll Monday coincides with the high court's decision that the government can't require that closely held companies pay for some types of contraceptives for its employees.

Washington (CNN) – After more than six decades of public service, Israeli President Shimon Peres paid his last official visit to the White House on Wednesday.

The Israeli leader discussed with President Barack Obama the wavering stability in the Middle East as civil uprisings in Iraq and Syria plague the region, as well as Iran's nuclear program – an issue Israel sees as a major threat to its security.

Washington (CNN) – Following last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the ban on federal benefits for legally married same-sex couples, the White House is announcing Friday that more benefits will be extended to those couples, no matter where they live.

Included in those benefits will be the ability to take time off to care for a same-sex spouse without the risk of being fired.

A White House official said Friday the Department of Labor was beginning a process to extend those benefits, which are laid out in the Family and Medical Leave Act, to married same-sex couples. The rules would extend nationwide, even in states that don't recognize such marriages.

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama opened the first 'Maker Faire' at the White House Wednesday, by asking why there was an 'e' at the end of ‘Faire’ He then quipped, “This is America, we don't have 'e's at the end of 'fair'."

Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama will sign an order barring federal contractors from discriminating against employees "on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that specifics "are still being finalized," but the order would "build upon existing protections" around race, ethnicity and religion for those employed by entities doing business for the government.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's national security team is pushing forward on moving detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to other countries amid outrage in Congress at the recent transfer of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

While there aren't any "imminent transfer announcement in the works," the team assigned to moving detainees is "energetically working this issue every day from Washington, foreign capitals, and places in between," according to National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.

Washington (CNN) – Top White House adviser John Podesta defended the administration on criticism about its decision to swap Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners, the proposal to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent and the mishandling of veterans health care.

"The President will make tough decisions," Podesta told a group of reporters Friday at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor.

That's the message President Barack Obama and his administration are sending with its most recent ambassadorial nominations after facing scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats over the questionable credentials of some recent picks to represent the United States abroad.